An asteroid in the solar system has been named after AAE professor Kathleen Howell. In a November 4 report, the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group on Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN) gave a main-belt asteroid the name (5396) Kathleenhowell.

The WGSBN entry credits Howell as “instrumental in advancing dynamical systems theory and invariant manifolds, culminating in trajectory optimization. Her pioneering work on the three-body problem has led to the use of halo orbits in several missions.”

Howell was nominated by Ryan Park, a principal engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the President of the International Astronomical Union's Cross-Division A-F Commission on Solar System Ephemerides. "I had an opportunity to nominate a name for unnamed asteroids to honor people who have made significant contributions in our field. Kathleen's name came to mind first! Considering everything she's done for the community, I believe such a nomination is long overdue."

According to spacereference.org, (5396) Kathleenhowell is a main-belt asteroid roughly the size of the San Francisco Bay, placing it in the largest 1 percent of asteroids. It completes an orbit of the sun every 1,360 Earth days (3.72 years) and is not considered likely ever to contact Earth. It was discovered in 1988 by Belgian astronomer Henri Debehogne.

Kathleen Howell is a world-renowned expert in astrodynamics and Purdue’s Hsu Lo Distinguished Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She completes one orbit of the sun every year.